Source: National standard price list launched to curb overcharging – herald
Martin Kadzere
THE Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has introduced a standardised pricing framework to provide clear and uniform guidelines across the public sector.
Developed in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) and the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC), PRAZ has now come up with the National Standard Price List (NSPL).
According to a circular from PRAZ to accounting officers, the price list will now serve as the mandatory benchmark for all public procurement contracts to ensure the Government achieves value for money.
Under the new guidelines, procuring entities are required to integrate the NSPL throughout the entire procurement cycle.
The list will be used specifically during the planning, bid evaluation and contract award stages to assess the “price reasonableness” of commonly procured goods and services.
The intervention comes as a direct response to repeated concerns by the Treasury regarding systemic overcharging.
In recent years, the Treasury has flagged numerous instances where the Government was charged “extortionate” prices, often three to five times the market rate, by unscrupulous suppliers. While suppliers justified inflated pricing, citing inflation and extended 90-day payment cycles, the Treasury maintained that many of these markups remained economically unjustifiable.
Before this framework was developed, the authorities lamented that the lack of a standardised price index allowed for significant fiscal leakages and middleman markups that drained the National Budget.
As such, the authorities believe the introduction of the NSPL would effectively close these gaps, making it difficult for suppliers to inflate invoices without immediate detection during the bid evaluation stage.
“The NSPL should not be construed as a price control, but a reference tool, such that procuring entities can make informed procurement decisions,” said PRAZ chief executive officer Dr Clever Ruswa, in a circular to accounting officers dated February 26, 2026.
Accounting officers are primarily permanent secretaries of ministries, heads of Government departments and constitutional commission chairpersons, responsible, under the Public Finance Management Act, for managing public funds.
According to the new framework, prices should be denominated in United States National standard price list launched to curb overchargingdollars to ensure the continued applicability of the NSPL and to facilitate easier reviews, aligning with the existing principle of submitting procurement plans in US dollars.
The NSPL allows for a price variance of not more than 10 percent in cases where market prices exceed the list’s benchmarks. PRAZ has done this after recognising that market conditions can be volatile.
This margin is intended to accommodate market shocks and geographical pricing dispersions.
In cases where supply constraints or technical requirements drive costs above the NSPL benchmarks, procuring entities are permitted to proceed under strict conditions.
For procurement within an accounting officer’s jurisdiction, agencies may proceed via request for quotation tenders, provided that the price deviations are thoroughly documented and backed by market evidence.
These cases must be approved through internal governance structures and reported to PRAZ quarterly.
However, any tenders exceeding the accounting officer’s financial threshold will now require mandatory scrutiny by the Special Procurement Oversight Committee before they can be finalised.
For goods and services not currently captured in the NSPL, PRAZ has advised entities to conduct comprehensive market consultations before initiating any proceedings.
Furthermore, a mandatory due diligence and price reasonableness analysis must be performed before the awarding of any such contracts.
The regulation places the burden of accountability squarely on accounting officers, who retain ultimate responsibility for the prudent use of public funds.
Under the new rules, procurement management units are required to show clear evidence of NSPL benchmarking in all tender evaluations, while internal audit units will now monitor compliance as part of their routine oversight.
PRAZ has committed to the continuous review and update of the NSPL to ensure it reflects shifting market developments.
It noted that ongoing stakeholder engagement will be a priority to improve the list’s effectiveness and usability over time.
Analysts say the framework was a necessary institutional “guardrail” to solve challenges in public procurement.
Economist Mr Enoch Musara argues that the mandatory NSPL benchmark curtails the discretionary power of procurement officers, effectively addressing the root causes of rent-seeking.
He said the framework remains practical through its 10 percent variance threshold, which balances regional price differences.
“The mandatory NSPL benchmark finally addresses the root causes of rent-seeking in our public sector,” he said.
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